Another decent detective book. The story romps along at a good pace, kept me gripped.
However, some of the descriptions of the attacks and injuries seemed salacious and too graphic, a bit too stomach turning at times for me.
And another book where the police officer insists on going in - NO! Wait for backup!

Maybe it is just me, but I really couldn't get any empathy with the characters in this book.

Thank you Net Galley. First, I have not read the earlier two books in the series. I enjoyed this and look forward to reading earlier and future installments in the series. The protagonist is a gritty and "unsympathetic" character. A gritty hard-boiled cop. I enjoyed that. Makes a change from the usual female protagonists.

The best of the 3 books by far. Gripped from the start and really enjoyed the character development in this one.

Trial by execution by tme Walsh is a general fiction (adult) and mystery and thriller read.
The infamous dahlia rapist Raymond Knox just newly released from prison for killing and raping 3 girls between 16 years and 19 years and leaving a calling card marked on each of his victims is found dead in the forest near the hostile he was staying in. Who done it and why?
This was a absolutely mind blowing full of twists and plots read. Really wasn't expecting it to be who it was. I do hope there is more to come. Highly recommended. 5*. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book from netgalley.

Thank you Netgalley and HQ Digital for an advance copy of this book. This is the first novel to feature DCI Winters and wish I had read the first 2 so I could familiarise myself with the character. I read this book in one sitting that was how good it was

In the third installment of the DCI Claire Winters series, Claire has the unenviable task of finding the person who killed a recently released brutal predator who served 15 years for raping and maiming several young women. The media and the public hail the killer a hero, and little support is forthcoming for Claire's investigation. Was this a revenge killing? Vigilante action? The case takes a sinister turn when a woman is found murdered and left with the same disfigurement the now deceased rapist used to inflict upon his victims.
I very much enjoyed For All Our Sins and The Principle Of Evil, the first two books in this series. This third one was my least favorite so far. While the story was captivating with its insight into the long-lingering effects of a vicious crime on the victims and their families, the execution felt all over the place. The point of views kept changing, there was some first-person narrative, e.g. from the perpetrator's point of view, then third person narrative. The timeline wasn't linear. There'd be a revelation and then a flashback where the action leading up to this revelation would be disclosed. Sometimes, these things work. Here, it was just a bit too choppy.
I'm also losing patience with the protagonist. I liked Claire in books 1 and 2, although she obviously had her flaws (which detective doesn't?). But this time round she just seemed to do her own thing, ignoring everybody else and just taking advantage of people.
The book would work as a standalone, but if you haven't read the first two, you'd probably be missing out on the finer details regarding Claire's complicated relationship with her father, her equally complex connection with her ex-husband, who plays a bigger role in this installment, or her tense working relationship with certain people in her team. I admit by the end I was congratulating her ex-husband on the decision to divorce her years ago. While Claire showed some vulnerability in the previous book, she just appears cold and even more aloof now. Not the personal development I was hoping for. Still, the central storyline was interesting enough that I will be looking out for DCI Winters' fourth adventure in the future.
Overall, 3.5 stars rounded up.
I received an ARC via NetGalley.

4 stars

Raymond Knox is released from prison after serving fifteen years for the awful mutilation and rape of three young girls.

His body is discovered mutilated in the same manner as his victims. Claire Winters and her team are on the case. They, of course, interview Knox’s victims and others tangential to the case.

Meanwhile, the general public and the press are almost celebrating Knox’s demise. This presents the double-edged sword of the murder of someone no one will miss – even the police themselves. The reader must examine their own conscience on the matter whether to cheer that Knox is dead – perhaps finally getting what he deserves – or whether to feel charity toward him for the manner of his horrible death.

The case turns more serious though when a young girl is found…also mutilated in the same manner.

Searching intensely for clues, Claire and her team finally catch the killer. The person came as a surprise to me.

I must admit that I did not find the character of Claire Winters very likeable. She jumps in without thinking of any consequences. She doesn’t seem to fit into my idea of a detective in this day and age.

The book is well written, Claire aside, and the story idea is a novel one. I will look into reading more of the series, this book having been my first T.M.E. Walsh novel.

Sending a thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK/HQ Digital for forwarding to me a copy of this book to read.

Another dark, fast paced novel in this series. Fast paced and well written with plenty of twists to keep you guessing right to the unexpected conclusion

I would like to thank Netgalley and HQ Digital for an advance copy of Trial By Execution, the third novel to feature DCI Claire Winters.

A notorious rapist is being released after serving 15 years, apparently reformed and ready to atone. Raymond Knox was convicted of raping and mutilating 3 teenagers so when his body is found, mutilated in the same way, Claire and her team are interested in his victims. Knox's murder, however, presents them with dilemma. How do you investigate the murder of man no one will mourn? This is resolved when a teenager is found dead with same wounds - an innocent victim is different.

Trial By Execution is a refreshing read as it has a different and interesting plot. It is well paced and absorbing as a read, although it isn't strictly linear, which I prefer, with some events happening then the explanation afterwords. It also has chapters from the unidentified perpetrator's perspective, fortunately not too many.

The novel tackles some big issues like vigilantism and how a serious assault affects the victims for years but as they are part of the plot it is not a serious examination nor is it resolved in any meaningful way.

I found my enjoyment of the novel marred by the behaviour of the protagonist DCI Claire Winters. I do not find her a sympathetic character and her tendency to act first and think later is unrealistic in this day and age of professional policing. It leads her into situations that make for exciting reading, but I find it hard to swallow my disbelief.

Trial By Execution is an absorbing read with an unusual premise so I can recommend it as a good read.

First, this is the 3rd in a series. I haven't read the other 2 but I didn't feel like I was missing out by not having read them. Now that I've read this one, I'm going to go back and check out her first two because this was good.

Once I started this the only thing that made me put it down was literally falling asleep while holding my tablet because it was after 2a then I finished it first thing in the morning when I woke. I also didn’t figure out who the killer was until right as it was being revealed which made me love this book even more when the killer isn’t obvious from chapter one.

I loved how Walsh creates her characters even her villians. There is so much I want to say about that but I have no idea how to express my extreme enthusiasm for what she did without giving something important away. The way she writes I felt like I was actually there crawling out of the ground with one of her victims. She makes it so realistic your skin crawls with the feeling of dirt on it like no shower will be enough.

She sets a good scene with a strong plot line which helps you get from A to B but her writing is so detailed and vibrant you WANT to go on this journey no matter where it’ll take you. She sets these gritty, bloody scenes that are like visual car accidents you can’t turn your head from – not that you want to or risk missing something.

Walsh is a fantastic crime writer that obviously knows how to wring out the best of this genre.

DCI Claire Winters takes on the case of a vigilante determined to hand out their own brand of justice in this well written British police procedural

This book was fabulous, I was hooked from the second I opened it and I found it really hard to put down. This is a brilliant 3rd instalment, I can't wait for number 4!